eBay problems, resolutions, shenanigans, questions and info (not bike finds)

Won a Thomson post in september. Wait for weeks. Never made it further than Swedish customs according to tracking number. Apparently sent back to seller in UK. Seller claims the post haven't been returned to him. Wait a few weeks more.. Seller reports it as lost at his postal office. Wait a few weeks more for them to 'process' the report. As it was insured he should get his money back, no? Try to get in contact with the seller and ask for a refund, now almost 3 months since purchase. Seller ignores messages.

Can't open a case on eBay because it's been too long.

Open a PayPal claim. Gets deleted after a day.

Cunts. No big money (£50) but fucking annoying. He has some other items up so clearly he's active but couldn't care less.

Bradsixteen you on here?

Has he been actively selling/buying recently?

Has he been actively selling/buying recently?

Yeah. He's at it right now.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/bradsixteen/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

I sold something on Ebay to someone in Peru. The package could not be delivered because the buyer had not applied for an import license. So, they filed a case and eBay awarded in their favour. Now, the package is still in Peru and can not be returned to me. WTF???

eBay say you can appeal the case but then they move you around in circles with no link to actually make the appeal and present your evidence. The tricks they employ to fuck people over make me absolutely livid.

I flat-out refuse to post abroad now. Just.cannot.be.fucked.with the hassle.

Hmm, I seem to be an active poster in this thread...

I messaged an eBay seller to sell to me outside of eBay and paid him via Paypal with protection.
I clearly stated the address I would like the goods posted to in my eBay messages, but because I paid via Paypal's mobile app, it used my main address (where my bank account is registered), instead of where I am currently living. I don't believe it gives you the option to chose an alternative address, which I overlooked.

This means my parents will have to forward on the parcel, which will cost about £6-8 (recorded delivery).

Is it reasonable to ask for these postage costs back because of his error?

Hmm, I seem to be an active poster in this thread...

I messaged an eBay seller to sell to me outside of eBay and paid him via Paypal with protection.
I clearly stated the address I would like the goods posted to in my eBay messages, but because I paid via Paypal's mobile app, it used my main address (where my bank account is registered), instead of where I am currently living. I don't believe it gives you the option to chose an alternative address, which I overlooked.

This means my parents will have to forward on the parcel, which will cost about £6-8 (recorded delivery).

Is it reasonable to ask for these postage costs back because of his error?

whose error? i think you might have to suck this one up. I've done this before when somebody sent a cheque to my old address on ebay, and i negged them to hell and then felt really bad!

I'd chalk it up to experience. You're both gaining (presumably) by selling outside of ebay but he's no obligation to do that deal with you and it's common practice to only send to paypal confirmed address due to "non received item" fraud.

Your bank account is registered at your parents which makes your life easy and possibly your credit score bettered (not judging, mine's the same until I have a defined home), this is a minor inconvenience in the scale of things

Do photos count as descriptions? Some clown who is bidding on a Brompton rack I am selling has just messaged me telling me to cancel his bids because it is not as described. It is described as 'used, showing signs of use, but in serviceable condition' and the pictures show that it isn't spotless.

Unless he's been round mine and had a look, how can he say it doesn't match the description? What should I do, second chance offer if he wins?

Ok. not an ebay problem, but I did pay through paypal.

I bought some custom made rim stickers at diginate. sent in my own vector art work.
the stickers were faulty (cut at the wrong vector) the company offered a reprint, but the next batch was faulty too. (cut not aligned to the art work)
paypal buyer protection does not cover custom made articles.
I've asked for a full refund, but have had no answer yet.

what do I do now?

edit: aha! answer. I will apparantly get a refund now.

So you think you bought a NOS Sancineto in your size. Pretty much your dream frame, advertised as "new (other)" and "NOS"...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sancineto-Columbus-Max-frame-/331212899153?ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123
You agonise over buying it or not. Finally you do. Then, a few days later, it arrives. Like a little boy, you leave work a teeny bit early to unpack the goods.
And it seems 100% positive feedback selling rare goods (century finish NOS sheriff stars anyone?) is no guarantee for anything.
EDIT: Pictures are rather huge, sorry about that.
http://i.imgur.com/zad1OX4.jpg (touched up paint on the seattube - looks worse irl)
http://i.imgur.com/tLoyjo4.jpg (nasty scratch on the fork - not the side pictured in the auction obv. also some cable rub on the headtube)
http://i.imgur.com/sdLBf7t.jpg (same nasty scratch + rust on chrome)
http://i.imgur.com/tHsMPI2.jpg (rear triangle nasty rust and badly filled in wheel scrape non driveside)
http://i.imgur.com/BDEAUp6.jpg (flakes on drive side dropout interior, another pic of rust)
http://i.imgur.com/PutrdCh.jpg (filled in wheel scrape)
Cable rub, rust spots on chrome, numerous badly touched up paint spots. Still a gorgeous frame, but not as advertised. Also, no BB included.
Now, having been burned by PayPal "buyer protection" once before (gipiemme and campagnolo are not the same, people), I am hesitant about the way forward. There is a loophole that malicious sellers can use to block the buyer from providing vital information in PayPal claims, BTW.
Ship it back or partial refund? What is the worth of a fairly used frame as compared to a NOS one? Anyone experience with this kind of thing? Paid with PayPal. No pal of mine, no sirree.

Have contacted seller with pictures, saying I am disappointed. Claims this counts as NOS in his book...

NOS means new not used it's a no brainer. On the whole buyer protection tends to side with the buyer if it's 50-50 so maybe you'll have a better experience this time, though you may need an "expert" to comment on condition - plenty of mechanics here I'd have thought.

What's this loophole?

NOS means new not used it's a no brainer. On the whole buyer protection tends to side with the buyer if it's 50-50 so maybe you'll have a better experience this time, though you may need an "expert" to comment on condition - plenty of mechanics here I'd have thought.

What's this loophole?

"New other (see details): A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear..."

Straightforward case of "goods not as described". The damage is consistent with wear from use, rather than "shop wear".

I can't see any problems with eBay: raise a complaint with them first, not Paypal.

The bottom bracket isn't listed in the sale, but I'd let him point that out.

It's an awesome frame and personally I'd haggle for a partial refund, but that's your choice. If it is returned, I'd ask for the return postage cost upfront.

A bit like Dvorkbod's issue above. Got this delivered yesterday:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151299116492

Listing states only a few scratches. However upon opening, I find this:

http://flic.kr/p/nT2zje

I've spoken to the seller who was unaware of this damage. The frame was very well packed with foam piping and dropouts spaced etc. paid with Paypal.

It's plausible this happened in transit. What do you guys think?

What's this loophole?

Perhaps "loophole" is not 100% the correct word, sorry. It's like this:
If a buyer initiates the dispute process, and comes with an offer, the seller can decline and immediately escalate the dispute to a claim. At that point, the buyer can no longer provide information, or, as was the case with me, contradict the seller's false information.
So, make sure to be as harsh, demanding and unforgiving as you possible need to be in case you have a seller who will be anything but reasonable. Which is not my personal style, I prefer to keep it civil and reasonable...

Thanks for the feedback all! I am away for the weekend now, will get back in touch.

A bit like Dvorkbod's issue above. Got this delivered yesterday:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151299116492

Listing states only a few scratches. However upon opening, I find this:

http://flic.kr/p/nT2zje

I've spoken to the seller who was unaware of this damage. The frame was very well packed with foam piping and dropouts spaced etc. paid with Paypal.

It's plausible this happened in transit. What do you guys think?

Could have happened in transit. Still you should claim via paypal/ebay, and then its up to the seller to sort out reimbursing themselves from the shipping company.

That's bad luck, I'm sorry for you.

^ This.

These things happen, no-one has died. Lesson learned.

I've opened a case with eBay US, lets see what happens. I believe this will be rideable but is definitely worth restoring and re-painting at some in the future (if I can get the correct tubing!)

Ship it back or partial refund? What is the worth of a fairly used frame as compared to a NOS one? Anyone experience with this kind of thing? Paid with PayPal. No pal of mine, no sirree.

Have contacted seller with pictures, saying I am disappointed. Claims this counts as NOS in his book...

Partial refund is always the way to go and seller usually comply, however If PayPal decided the claim in buyer's favour, which they usually do, and you want to ship it back you'll be asked to pay the return shipping cost yourself (based on my past experience). So do mind that.

Re the serotta, do be careful - the advice is always not to ride crash damaged frames unless you're sure they are safe - which isn't the same as them seeming safe. That's a fairly severe buckle and as mentioned tends to come from a head-on collision.

I find it dubious the seller wouldn't know if it were there before the sale, and if it did happen in transit (although you say it was well-packaged) then it's also the sellers job to ensure safe delivery, so I think this is one of the occasions to be quite harsh and demand full refund or cost of repairs at least.

Thanks S785, I literally copy and pasted what you said. I've asked for a full refund of the sale value of the product circa £400 which I envisage will at least cover the repairs and contribute towards a re-spray.

Oh - if you're asking for a refund you won't get to keep it (unless the seller expressly says they don't care for it back) - normally you return the goods, the idea is it's going back to how it was before you bought it i.e. you have money and he has ?bike?bendy bit of metal

It's a bit confusing but as I understand it while legally you could insist on the seller paying for return post/collecting, it's often the case that paypal makes you pay without any real mechanism for redress, so be ready for that.

Good luck!

Sim

I simply want to cover repairs so assume the seller will counter off with that and we can settle!

Partial refund is always the way to go and seller usually comply, however If PayPal decided the claim in buyer's favour, which they usually do, and you want to ship it back you'll be asked to pay the return shipping cost yourself (based on my past experience). So do mind that.

Seller agreed via email / skype to a partial refund of 177 GBP (making final price 250 GBP), and inclusion of an almost new Record Carbon BB, and a used Record crankset. The latter two are still on eBay, but he said he would end them early and eat the associated fee. I proposed to pay for their shipping, choosing to believe mistakes in listing were genuine. Also, I think the price is fair now. Still wouldn't have bought it at that price, as I have enough nice bikes as it is, and was looking for that NOS crowning jewel.
Refund hasn't been accepted yet, but I have faith it will.

I simply want to cover repairs so assume the seller will counter off with that and we can settle!

tbh, if you look at the pictures carefully, especially driveside, it really looks as though the dimple was there all along.

make him bleeeeeed